D. intermedia.....

[Pananep]

Hello everyone.... A couple of months ago I purchased a package of mixed Drosera seeds. They were sowed and have now reached a size at which they can be identified. Apparently the package I received was not of mixed varieties but only contained what I believe to be D. intemedia. I will try to provide a picture later on today to confirm my ID on this plant with anyone here.
Anyways, I know that the North American and European varieties require a cold winter in which they form hybernacula while varieties from Cuba and South America do not. I really wanted to know if there was any way that I could tell or differentiate between these varieties. This information is a must have in order for me to know how to treat these plants and what to provide them with. If they are of the N. American or European varieties I am goign to have to firgure out a way to provide them with a dormancy. Would a fridge be suitable as it is for Sarracenia and VFT? I am hoping that they are either the Cuba of S. American varieties as these would be suitable to grow year round here in Panama.
Any information on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Once again, I will try and post the pic later today. Thanks! Later!

[Pananep]

Ok, no replies yet hehe.....Maybe it's because of the fact that I have not uploaded a pic yet??? Anyways, I don't really know if a picture would really help, as all forms of D. intermedia are quite similar.
I bought the packet of seeds from BugBitingPalnts.com. I sent them an e-mail not too long ago asking them which form of D. intermedia seeds they carried and they and they replied saying they really had no idea. Anybody ever bought D. intermedia seeds from them before? If so, please let me know of your experience with the plants. I really need to know if they are the tropical form or not.
I have searched the web on how to provide D. intermedia with dormancy and found nothing. As of now I am thinking of doing the following:
-The plants already gave me a fair amount of seeds, so I know I can sow those next year in February-March. If I knew they were the tropical form I would sow them right away and know there is no need for stratification.
-I am going to propagate these plants from leaf cuttings in the next couple of weeks. Then I will proceed with the mother plants as if they were the temperate forms: gradually reduce light hours and increase temps with A/C and then provide them with fridge dormancy. I figure this way I can learn by trial and error which form they are and still have some cuttings growing just in case that they die.
Anyways, sorry for being so persistent, I just urgently need for someone to shed light on this subject. I don't want to kill plants just because.
Take care!

[strath76]

I think you are on the right track. If they are temperate their growth will begin to slow without reducing light hours. You are on the right track with the fridge for dormancy. If you reduce the light hours and they form hibernacular then I would refridgerate for 3-4 months. If growth only slows then I think you have the tropical forms.

Not very good though that you purchase mixed seeds and get only one variety. Especially when they don't know what varieties they are selling. Doesn't sound like a great place to buy from to me. Unfortunately you don't usually find out until after you have purchased something that you thought would be something else. Cheers.

[shawnintland]

Well, I just pulled out my copy of "Savage Garden" by Peter D'Amato because I remembered him discussing various climatic forms of D. intermedia. He does cover them on a few different pages and it's too much to copy it all here. (pp 134, 135, 137 and 142). A few quotes however; "The temperate forms...most often grow semi-aquatically around lakes in pure peat covered in a few inches of water. The plants will for stems several inches high with small, spoon shaped leaves on narrow petoiles with WHITE flowers." - "Tropical forms, such as those from Cuba, have smaller compact rosettes perfect for terrariums. Very large forms are often found in New Jersey, the Carolinas and Gulf States. I like to grow these in undrained bowls of waterlogged peat moss." - Other notes that I won't quote in their entirety; those originating in Wisconsin are cold-temperate and may experience dormancy lasting 6-7 months and can survive temps well below zero degrees. From Louisiana - warm temperate-dormant 3-4 mos.- can handle light frost or brief freezing. Cuba - no dormancy- can not handle freezing.
Later he says, "If you live in a warmer climate, you can always remove the hibernaculum once the plant dies down, and refrigerate it in an air-tight, plastic bag with a few strands of damp sphagnum moss. When dormant, these plants usually lose their roots as well as leaves."

Sorry, this probably won't help with ID'ing them but I hope it might be useful anyway!
Shawn

[Pananep]

Strath,
I do agree with you on the sellers of the seeds. They do mention on their website that sometimes the mixed seeds packets contain only one single species. I was in a way aware of this, I just didn't expect it. However, It is lame that they don't even know what form of D. intermedia seeds they carry. I guess this must mean they dont know what form of D. intermedia they grow because they also sell potted and bare root plants. I just wonder how they take care of them. I guess they just leave them there to fend off by themselves. Theyr warehouse is located on the west coast of the US, dont know where exactly though so this doest help to determine what form of intermedia these might be. I will e-mail them with this inquiery.

Shawn,
Thanks for the info. Always good to consult The Savage Garden hehehe. Everybody who grows or wants to know more about CP cultivation should own a copy of this book, I know it has been of great help to me from the start.

What I am going to do is simply proceed as I had planned. I will gradually decrease light hours and temperature as I do fot my Srracenia and vfts. If the plant shows any signs of dormancy it's going into the fridge. If not I'll just go back to regular light hours and assume it is the tropical form. If it proves not to be the temprate form then I'll sow the seeds immeadiatley, if not I'll wait for next year to keep them in sync with my other dormancy requiring plants. I will also take clones from the intermedias prior to experimentation. I think this simple trial experiment will be my only way to find out what form I am growing.
Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it! Later!